Sorry this chapter is so short. The past few days haven't been very good for me. I wanted to get something out for you guys, though.
~x~x~x~
The team sat around the bed that Len was occupying in the med bay on the ship. They had freed the other three men and dropped them off at the local hospital before returning to the Waverider. Len was so upset and didn't want to be checked over so Gideon administered a sedative. Len had been checked over, bones set, and given medication. Everyone was just waiting for him to wake up so they could see how this was going to affect him, psychologically. Mick was occupying the seat right next to Len and was grasping his hand, uncaring of what the others thought. He had almost lost him, he didn't care what anyone thought about him showing these kinds of emotions.
"I should drop you off in the Stone Age." Rip spoke up from where he sat across the room. Mick just stared at the man. "I should, but I'm not. For him." he said, nodding at Len. "He needs you now, more than ever. Even I can see that. But, if you make one more wrong move, I will personally kill you."
"You don't gotta worry about that." Mick grumbled. It was true. He had learned his lesson the first time. When he thought about not seeing Len again, after being imprisoned by Kronos, he couldn't bear the idea.
"Any idea how we're going to handle this after he wakes up?" Sara asked what everyone was thinking.
"Everyone responds to trauma differently." Stein said. "We'll have to wait to see what that reaction is going to be." Not a moment later, Len groaned, eyes fluttering open. He squinted at the bright light and tried to sit up. Mick gently pushed him back down, so he wouldn't hurt himself. This, however, had the opposite effect. Len's entire body jolted. He began to struggle against the arm holding him down. Realizing what was happening, Sara stepped forward and gently touched Len's face.
"Shhh. Hey, it's okay. You're back on the Waverider. Calm down." she spoke softly. This got Len's attention and his eyes wildly roved the room. When they landed on Mick, all of the energy seemed to drain from his body. He fell back against the bed and just lay there for a moment, closing his eyes. His body began to shake with sobs that he was holding in. Tears leaked from tightly closed eyes. Mick stroked Len's hand, still held in his larger one, with his thumb.
~x~x~x~
After a while, everyone eventually left Len alone. Well, everyone except Mick, who stayed with him into the night. Len hadn't said anything while the others were there and still didn't say anything after they left. Mick just sat there, not pushing him to talk, holding his hand. He figured he would let him in when he was ready. That's just how Len was. He would internalize things and needed space before talking about what was bothering him. Mick just had to give him time. He was prepared to wait however long Len needed. What he had been through... Mick couldn't even imagine. It was a miracle that Len was even still alive. If they had been a few minutes later, he would be dead. That thought made Mick tighten his grip on the hand in his. Len's blue eyes shifted so that he could look at his partner.
"Sorry." Mick apologized, loosening his grip.
"It's okay." Len whispered, tightening his own grip on Mick's hand.
"It's good to hear your voice." This caused Len to turn his lips up in a tiny smile.
"Same." Len readjusted himself so that he was on his side, facing Mick. "I missed you." he admitted. Mick looked stunned for a moment before he answered.
"I missed you, too. You ever do that again, though, I won't be held accountable for what I'll do." Len's smile grew.
"Understood."